Joe Mazzulla drops his all-time ratings when asked about the pressure

Celtics

“We’ll all be dead soon, and that doesn’t really matter anymore, so there’s no pressure.”

Joe Mazzulla is no stranger to making headlines while answering questions from the media.

And before the start of the Celtics' title defense in the 2024-25 season, Boston's head coach didn't mince his words when asked about the pressure facing the reigning champions.

“Zero. No pressure,” Mazzulla said Monday afternoon at the Auerbach Center. “We're all going to be dead soon, and that doesn't really matter anymore, so there's no pressure. Either you're going to win or you're not. And if you win, try you forget it a week later, and if you lose, you try to forget it a week later. So it's not pressure, it's a chance. We have a chance here in the next few years, no matter how long we're together.

“I've said this in the past: you have the opportunity to move the organization forward and strengthen the tradition and history of this organization. And what else would you expect other than someone constantly expecting you to win? I don't want anyone to constantly expect me to lose. That would be exhausting. So we have the expectation of winning.”

Mazzulla was not one to shy away from the high expectations placed on his team after they secured a coveted 18th championship.

And as Mazzulla focuses on preparing his team for a stronger field in the 2024-24 Eastern Conference, he's paying little attention to the outside noise – particularly the media.

“A Boston media member or anyone who expects me to win doesn’t have a gun. They won’t come after me if we don’t win,” Mazzulla said. “They say words. So they mean nothing. They're just words. You only say them because you have to say them. You are contractually obliged to write a 500 word article afterwards. They are just words, there is nothing you can do. So (pressure is) just a made-up word. We have no pressure. If we lose, we don't lose our lives.

“We are not surgeons, we are not in the military, we coach basketball for a living. No one puts more pressure and expectations on ourselves than we do. We have a responsibility and we have responsibilities. I ask guys all the time: Would you rather someone expect you to lose or win? For example, if you came here and said, “I really expected you to lose the game,” I would be upset. But if you come to me and say, “You should have won the game,” it’s like, yeah, that’s what we signed up for. So I think it’s just in the perspective of how you look at it.”

Of course, tuning out the noise is easier said than done — as evidenced by the current firestorm that Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is dealing with following his candid comments about his team on Sunday.

But Mazzulla remained resolute when asked whether words have power or not, whether through the media or otherwise.

“No, they don’t,” Mazzulla said. “If you allow it, if you allow words to take over your personal power, then yes. That's why I won't let words steal my personal power. This is simply important. Words have no power. They only have power if you allow them to.

“That’s what I try to teach my kids: I don’t care what anyone says to you. Have you allowed that to have an impact on you? He didn't touch you, he didn't touch you, he didn't do anything. He said something to you. Now it's your choice how you want to interpret this.

“So there’s no pressure. No one in this circle can do anything to me that could affect my identity and who I am as a person or coach. Either we’ll win or we won’t, and in 40 years none of you will be invited to my funeral and that’s it.”

Mazzulla and the Celtics officially kick off a new season on Tuesday night when they host the New York Knicks at TD Garden.

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Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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